Court Rules
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Enforcement ActionLow RiskMultistate

AG James and Coalition Sue to Block Federal Seizure of Commercial Drivers' Data

U.S. Department of TransportationAugust 13, 2026New York Attorney General

Consumers Affected

17,000,000

Summary

New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 21 other attorneys general and Pennsylvania sued the U.S. Department of Transportation and Department of Homeland Security to block the federal government from seizing the personal data of 17 million commercial drivers from the CDLIS database. The coalition argues the demands violate federal privacy laws and the Constitution, and seeks an injunction to prevent the data transfer.

Remedy

The coalition seeks a court order declaring the data demands unlawful, blocking the federal government from obtaining the states' records, and preventing AAMVA from turning over the information while litigation proceeds.

Injunction

Contract Impact

In-house legal teams should review any contracts with government agencies, data sharing agreements, and vendor agreements that involve personal data, particularly driver's license information. They should examine clauses related to data access, data transfer, confidentiality, and compliance with privacy laws such as the Driver's Privacy Protection Act. Additionally, agreements with organizations like AAMVA that manage state databases should be scrutinized for provisions that could allow unauthorized data disclosure or require compliance with federal data demands. Teams should ensure that contracts include robust data protection obligations, clear limitations on data use, and mechanisms to resist unlawful government requests.

Contract Search Terms

data sharing agreementgovernment data accessdriver's license dataprivacy protectiondata transfer clauseconfidentiality obligationssubpoena responsedata ownershipthird-party data sharingCDLIS

Laws Cited

Driver's Privacy Protection ActPrivacy ActAdministrative Procedure ActSpending Clause of the U.S. Constitution

Violation Types

Entity Details

Entity

U.S. Department of Transportation

Industry

Other

Multistate Coalition

Official Sources

Source Evidence

Entity Name
"U.S. Department of Transportation"
Laws Cited
"the Driver's Privacy Protection Act, the Privacy Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution"
Violation Types
"unlawful data demands"

Related Enforcement Actions

CO

U.S. Department of Transportation

Attorney General Phil Weiser joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general and Pennsylvania in filing two lawsuits against the Trump administration for demanding a database of state-owned records containing sensitive personal information of 17 million commercial drivers. The lawsuits allege violations of federal privacy laws and the Administrative Procedure Act, and seek an emergency order to prevent the data from being turned over by the August 17 deadline.

NJ

U.S. Department of Transportation

A coalition of 21 state attorneys general and Pennsylvania filed lawsuits against the Trump Administration, DOT, FMCSA, DHS, and AAMVA to prevent the unlawful demand for a database containing personal information of 17 million commercial driver's license holders. The lawsuits allege violations of federal privacy laws and the Administrative Procedure Act, and seek an emergency order to block the data transfer.

VA

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A coalition of 21 attorneys general and the Governor of Pennsylvania filed lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Transportation, FMCSA, DHS, and AAMVA to prevent the federal government from obtaining a database of personal information of 17 million commercial driver's license holders. The lawsuits allege the federal government violated federal privacy laws and the Administrative Procedure Act by demanding the data without notice or guardrails, and threatening to withhold $10 million in federal funding if AAMVA refused.

CT

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OR

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Attorney General Dan Rayfield and a coalition of 21 attorneys general and Pennsylvania filed lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Transportation, FMCSA, and AAMVA to block demands for a database containing personal information of 17 million commercial drivers. The federal government threatened to withhold $10 million in funding unless the data was turned over, which the coalition argues violates privacy law.

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